Lately, I've read several romance novels. I found Book Lovers, by Emily Henry, to be unrealistic with the characters having too much angst (I swear, in Book Lovers, every decision (big or small) the main character made was fraught with haunting memories of the past. It was just too much ). And although I enjoyed The Treehouse on Dog River Road, the characters were annoyingly perfect. I think I found the right balance of angst, fun, and romance with Nora Goes Off Script, by Annabel Monaghan. There's the angst of Nora's divorce and it's effect on her kids. There's the fun of Nora being a screenwriter and having a film crew at her home. And the romance is swoon-worthy. Could the hottest actor in Hollywood actually want to hang out with Nora in her very normal small town? Is he interested in her, or just wants a break from his glamorous life?

This was a really fun book to read. I liked that everyone had their issues (even Nora's kids), but that they were all just people trying to get on with life. There were many big moments, such as some of the characters winning awards, and small moments, like the kids participating in school plays and sports, that made this book both realistic, and super entertaining. This would be a great summer read.

What I liked:

Settings:

I enjoyed Nora's small town where everyone knows everyone else's business. People know all about Nora's divorce from her husband Ben. He was a dreamer who belittled Nora's writing talent, and wouldn't hold down a job. And there was a mix of people who were supportive, pitying, and judgemental. Nora is happy here with her kids, and the stunning sunrises that calm her each morning.

Other moments in the book take place in Hollywood. I appreciated that this wasn't filled with too many cliches about fake people. In fact, I would say that this was the opposite of that. Nora meets some really big movie stars, and gets attention. But she doesn't feel out of place. She knows that this isn't something she can get used to, and just enjoys it for what it is.

Characters:

I really liked Nora and her family. Nora felt like a whole person to me. Yes, she falls in love with a movie star, and has her doubts about if this could turn into a long-term relationship. But she never doubts her self-worth. She had an ex-husband who constantly tried to undermine her, calling her writing cheesy. But, as she rightly points out, her writing has given her the ability to take care of herself and her kids.

Since we're seeing Leo through Nora's lens, it's less clear what kind of person he is. Is he a down-to-earth guy, or a narcissistic sociopath? Their romance is sweet and doesn't seem too Insta-lovey to be real. And he does seem to genuinely care about Nora and her kids.

Story:

This is about as formulaic as it gets, girl gets boy, girl loses boy girl gets him back. But there's a reason that there are these roadmaps. The stories work! I liked that Nora and Leo actually have good conversations with each other as they fall in love. And I really liked that Nora figures out a path forward when she loses him. Their getting back together is a bit of a fantasy, but it was also really entertaining.

I LOVED this book! I saw a fellow bookstagrammer compare it to recent faves like Book Lovers and The Bodyguard so I knew I had to read it! She was right, it's a fantastic book.

If you love Taylor Jenkins Reid, Emily Henry, Katherine Center, or Abby Jimenez this is the next book for you! This must read will be the breakout hit of the summer!

Loved this one!

I really liked the slow kindling between Nora and Leo and how they seemed to just easily accept and know each other in and out. I wish their time apart had been a bit shorter so we could have seen more of them together but I loved Leo’s love for Nora and her kids.

This was a very powerful book. I have to say that I requested this book because I thought it would be a cute romcom but Annabel Monaghan gave me something so much more. This is a book about family, loss, finding yourself, and love. The characters were well developed and I felt like I could completely picture Laurel Ridge. This book isn't so much about the romance but about learning to take what life has given you and make it something great. I wasn't expecting it to end the way it did but I'm glad I got my HEA. I would have liked a little nugget about Nora's next career move though.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC.

I adored this, as a writer myself it was so cathartic to see nora living the life and dream i wish to have (maybe not exactly but definitely the screenwriter part (and the hot actor))

Title: Nora Goes Off Script
Author: Annabel Monaghan
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Nora's life is about to get a rewrite...

Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it's her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage's collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it's picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne'er do well husband Nora's life will never be the same.

The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He'll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it's the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it's the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.

I really enjoyed this! I found Nora’s voice to be eminently relatable and hysterically funny. Her reactions were priceless and almost exactly what I’d have done myself. This was sweet and snarky, emotional and believable, and I binge-read it in one go!

Annabel Monaghan lives in New York. Nora Goes Off Script is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 6/6).

4 1/2 stars. I really enjoyed this book. Nora is a struggling single mom who writes a script based on the break up of her marriage. She is surprised when it is sold for a lot of money and the director filming it wants to use her house, specifically her tea house, for some shots. The film crew comes for a couple days, but when they leave Leo, the leading man playing her husband, asks to stay in the tea house for a week. Nora and Leo's relationship evolves naturally. At first she is put off by Leo and doesn't trust him. The more time they spend together, the more comfortable she is with him and the more he opens up to her. Plus Leo is great with her two children. Nora and Leo definitely have chemistry. Nora Goes Off Script is a perfect summer beach read with humor and heart.

What a fabulous read! Run out and buy this book and throw it in your beach bag! This will be a favorite of the summer and you’ll read it in one sitting!

Nora is an absolute gem - a very recently divorced Mom of two, who has quickly realized that her ex-husband has done her a favor by leaving. Filming of her latest screenplay, based on her story, is ongoing at her Tea House with the hot actor Leo playing her ex. The story jumps from there, when Leo wants to stay past filming with Nora and her kids Arthur and Bernadette.

The writing sparkles and the dialog snaps, and it all comes across as so real and not contrived. Nora is thirty-nine and so very self aware that I was rooting for her and her kids from the start.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me this
eARC in exchange for my honest review.

When a movie is being filmed at your house and a gorgeous movie star decides to crash at your place, what do you do? Fall in love with him, of course! This book was simply AMAZING. It’s my favorite book I have read so far this year. It had me laughing, smiling, and shedding tears of sadness and joy. I mean, it was an emotional rollercoaster (for me AND the characters)! My only regret with this book is that I didn’t read it sooner. I will be going out and buying a physical copy of the book so I can underline and tab and re-live every adorable moment between Nora and Leo. This book was just that good. I suggest you run out and buy it right this minute!


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and @NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I really liked this book. It would make a really great summer vacation read! I tore through this book in a couple of days and loved the story. It felt really predictable until there was a little twist towards the end that I really liked.

Overall, it's a feel good book with fun characters. I'm excited to read more books by Annabel Monaghan!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan in exchange for my honest review. I was initially drawn to this book because of the comparison to Evie Drake Starts Over, which I enjoyed. Nora is an independent woman who writes Hallmark styles romance scripts for television. The anecdotal stories that always have their happy endings. After her husband decides to leave, she writes the story of their life together and little does she know that it will be her most successful story yet. Not only does it bring her notoriety but it brings her the love of her life. But it doesn't come easy and a surprising twist puts it all together in the end. The past abandonment of her husband has also affected her two children and accepting someone new and trusting them is hard for them all. Loved it!

I devoured this book!! I absolutely loved the chemistry between Nora and Leo, the small town writer and the hot shot movie star. They’re bound to fall in love right? Like your usual romance, you’ll think “oo, I know how this might end”… keep reading 😍😍 Nora’s two children are both described so perfectly, their little personalities are spot on for kids their age! But not only that, I love how the book that was written about a movie also FEELS like a movie. I swear, the descriptiveness of the entire read was really so visualizing. This is a super quick read, because you won’t want to stop. So cute!

Nora Goes Off Script is such a wonderful read. I enjoyed the story as a whole, but the highlight is the dynamic between Nora and Leo. It was touching.

Nora lives in a small town where everybody knows everybody and their business. She is a screenwriter, mostly for The Romance Channel. She has 2 kids, Arthur & Bernadette, who she is raising alone after her husband Ben decided suburban dad/husband life was not for him. She sold a script that is based on her own life which draws some big name actors, actresses and directors and they are going to film some of it in & around her home. The male lead is the gorgeous Leo Vance who is known for his smolders. After filming, when everyone else leaves. he stays behind. He offers to pay Nora "rent" if she'll let him stay. He told her that his mother had just recently died and he just needed some down time and promises he won't get in her way. She agrees and really doesn't mind when he follows her everywhere & does get in her way. He even volunteers to help her son who has been cast as a lead in the school play of Oliver Twist.

The plot was kind of predictable, like the plots of the movies Nora writes for The Romance Channel but not having a big twist is okay sometimes. In my head I think how impossible this situation would be in real life, but Nora acknowledges that too. It was a real written story that I flew through in less than 24 hours. It kept me engaged and interested the whole way through. I enjoyed this very much and look forward to more from this author.

Nora is a screenwriter of Hallmark-style rom-com movies, and she's quite good at it. Then her husband walks out on her and their two children. As a coping mechanism, Nora writes the ultimate anti-rom-com, detailing the unraveling of her marriage, and it's going to be made into a movie. Filmed at her house, no less. And the actor playing her no-good ex? None other than the hottest actor on the planet, Leo Vance. Leo is working through some issues of his own, so after filming wraps, he asks Nora if he can pay to stay as a guest at her house for an additional week. Nora can't turn down the generous monetary sum, and she enjoys their mornings on the porch watching the sun rise, so she agrees.

Nora Goes Off Script is a lovely read, with great characters who pull you into their world. Nora's kids, Arthur and Bernadette, steal the show quite a bit, and I loved the whole family. There was great banter and chemistry between our leads, and it was wonderful to watch as Nora took back her life and her power and her sense of self after being belittled and financially and emotionally drained by her ex. I'm also a sucker for a guy developing a strong relationship with his partner's kids. I did have my usual problem with what seems to be a regular thing in romance these days: a misunderstanding that is painful for the reader because we know that if the people involved would just utilize the barest minimum of adult communication skills, they would be all good. But that's just a personal taste thing for me, YMMV.

I definitely recommend this book if you're in the mood for something sweet and charming, with just enough emotion to make you tear up a time or two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I wasn't sure what to expect with this, but I instantly fell in love with it. Nora's life has been a rollercoaster - filled with ups and downs. It was definitely her turn to find the happily-ever-after she had lost. I think it's every girl's dream to land "the Sexiest Man Alive" or even just have the opportunity to have one living in their house for a week... Or have their script turned into a movie...

This book was filled with loveable characters and one I would love to see turned into a movie itself!

I’m going to make this short and sweet: preorder this book now so you have it in your hands as soon as it releases on Tuesday! Trust me on this! This book is absolute perfection. Sweet and fun, interesting characters and great relationship building - a perfect summer read.

Nora is a a screenwriter of cheesy romance movies made for TV. Her home becomes the set for one of her films that’s made it to the big screen. When the male lead decides to hide out at her house as a means to check out of his celebrity lifestyle for a bit the cutest romance begins. His “smoldering” looks, her precocious kids and comeback from a lousy ex-husband - you can’t help but root for them. This will definitely be one of my favorite rom coms of the year!

Nora Goes Off Script was an absolutely fun book to read! I you sucked into this story and finished it in one sitting!

Nora is a screenwriter for The Romance Channel. When a script she wrote about her husband leaving her was picked up by a major studio and a scene was set to be filmed at her house she meets Hollywood heartthrob Leo Vance. When filming wraps up and he asks her to stay at her house a few days longer she accepts knowing that this could be the best or worst decision of her life.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down and I loved the real life scenes and the funny Hallmark-esque jokes. Nora's kids were adorable and I loved seeing Nora change. The morning porch scenes made me want to get up and go sit in my deck in the mornings!

This book was more like a hallmark movie than a book to me. I still liked it enough. I just felt like the characters were not super strong and it felt choppy at points. I also feel like I am not the right audience for this book because I am 27 and single. just not my favorte.

Let me admit, I normally avoid romances. I find them either cloying or totally unbelievable. But this one I absolutely loved! Was the premise far fetched? Yes, but i so wanted it to be true that I was willing to turn a blind eye. And the character of Nora was so fleshed out and real, I liked her and wanted life to turn her way.

Nora is a writer of formulaic romance movies for a channel that sounds a lot like Hallmark. She churns a couple of these out a year, which allows her to survive but just barely. She had been supporting her family of two children and husband Ben, but then he up and leaves her because he's not feeling fulfilled. After the initial rage of betrayal, Nora decides maybe it's for the best. But she wrote a screenplay about this life moment when she was angry, and in a twist of fate, it's going to be turned into a Hollywood movie.

Sparks fly almost immediately when Nora meets Leo, the big star who will be playing her jerk husband. You can probably guess everything that happens after. What you can't predict is how much this writer makes you enjoy the journey to get there, and how fresh and real it all feels.

This is the perfect feel good book if you need a happy lift. I enjoyed it very much! If you love romance reads, buy it at once. If you aren't a fan, you might be pleasantly surprised when you give this one a read!